NBA Justified in Fining Pacers Coach Frank Vogel for Comments About Officials

Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel's pocketbook is justifiably a little lighter after being fined by the NBA for his comments about the Miami Heat and their perceived propensity for the flop. 

SI.com's Sam Amick tweeted out the news.

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Indiana coach Frank Vogel fined $15,000 by NBA for comments made Thursday about how officials should handle the upcoming series with Miami.

— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 12, 2012"

Leading up to the Pacers' second-round matchup with the Heat, Vogel is already trying to work the refs. He called the Heat "the biggest flopping team in the NBA." 

He went into a little more detail on the subject and was quoted by Ira Winderman, of the Sun Sentinel, when he said: 

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Every time you drive to the basket, they've got guys not making a play on the ball, but sliding in front of drivers, often times they're falling down before contact is even made. It'll be very interesting to see how this series is officiated.

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You can be sure that Vogel will gladly pay the fine if his comments in any way get the refs to judge the Heat's attempts to draw a charge with a more scrutinizing eye. 

That said, the NBA is right to levy fines in this kind of situation. 

Coaching legend Phil Jackson has been a victim to fines for similar reasons on several occasions. Last year, he was fined $35,000 after complaining about the fact that the Dallas Mavericks were getting away with too much physicality, according to ESPN.

The playoffs are the NBA's showcase. They don't need it to sink into a series of pointed comments from coaches calling attention to the officiating. Without some kind of punishment to coaches, these kinds of quotes would be rampant and would dominate headlines. 

The league needs the attention to be placed on the game action and not the way the game is being called. The less spotlight the refs have, the better.

Some things are better handled behind closed doors, and this is one those issues.